Petrobras says will pay extra fees when oil fields commercialized

RIO DE JANEIRO May 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run oil
company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Wednesday it
will only be required to pay for excess oil rights found in
areas it bought from the government in 2010 when it declares the
fields commercially viable.

That means there is no set date for the conclusion of talks
with the government on how to price any oil rights beyond the 5
billion barrels already purchased, Petrobras, as the company is
known, said in a securities filing.

Investors are concerned that Petrobras, which many believe
overpaid for the initial exploration rights in a September 2010
oil-for-stock swap, will be forced to pay more even as rising
debt, delayed output and falling oil prices crimp its cash and
force investment cutbacks.

Petrobras' preferred shares, the company's most traded class
of stock, fell 6.3 percent on Tuesday, its biggest one-day
decline in 3-1/2 months, on concern Brazilian Finance Minister
Joaquim Levy was pressuring it to make the payment this year.

Local news agency Agencia Estado on Tuesday said that
payment could be as high as 20 billion reais ($6.6 billion). A
Petrobras representative declined to comment on the potential
value of the payment.

A final determination of the fee Petrobras will have to pay
for any discoveries above a level of 5 billion barrels will also
be made only after volumes in the commercial fields are
certified and reviewed by Brazil's oil regulator, the ANP,
Petrobras said.